Golden Mare Resort

Good location away from the hustle and Bussell of town. Set on hillsides, so there are rooms are positioned on steep walks. Barbati beach is around 15 mins walk away. Buses run from outside the hotel. Green bus straight to Corfu town. Get off at the stop before the terminal. Or you will have to walk back into town and that can take 10-15 mins. €2.70 each way. Atmosphere is a mix of couples and families. Evening entertainment is live music sourced from outside. Most days it was good, however you may need to occupy yourself whilst the music is on. Room was average. I’d liken it to a Premier Inn in the UK and not 4 star. Issues were - no WiFi in the room even though we asked for it to be looked at over our week long stay. Gaps in the front door so bugs can get in and the door has to be slammed shut for it to lock. We could hear the people next door, wall are thin. Beds were ok - well used and the spare bunk beds are uncomfortable. Room was cleaned on a daily basis, but the cleanliness level was low. Bathroom not fully cleaned, not enough towels left each day and they were not always clean and some were worn out and ripped. No tea and coffee refills (had to ask). The plug in the bathroom sink was stuck closed. I had to chase a number of times to get it unblocked as we were using the shower to brush our teeth. When the technician came, he just removed the plug and left it on the side, without a repair. Not a great service. The shower gel ran out, so we had to ask for more, surely this should be part of the daily routine. Restaurant was well run and efficient. However, there is no air con in the main restaurant and flies are in the outside space. Food was good variety each day. Breakfast was the same, lunch and dinner had options - limited but nice. Drinks taste of salt, however the water is filtered. So we bought our own. They did cater very well for our son who has a gluten free diet. Thank you George and team. The pool was clean and well kept. However, the surrounding area around the pool was dirty and not cleaned during the day. Sun beds are also not cleaned and have marks on them. Pictures on the website and reality are not the same. No WC outside by the pool area. You have to go through the reception to get to one WC. There is a bar next to the pool and they serve coffee, cocktails and local beers and sprits. Reception team were helpful, although they had to be chased. The grounds are quite hilly. If you have an outside room be prepared to climb slops and some stairs. Not good it’ll you are elderly or struggle with mobility. The hotel shop is well stocked and has all the necessary essentials. Snacks, creams, hats and drinks. Overall, I would say this is an ok hotel. It’s not a 4 star if I compare it to other 4 star hotels in Greece. It’s a 3 star hotel at best. Friendly staff all busy doing their jobs. It’s 45-50 mins from the airport. WiFi around the hotel was ok and worked well.

The good:

• Stunning views and in a beautiful location. We loved walking up the hill behind the hotel for the views and going down to Barbati beach where you could snorkel.
• Rooms and bathrooms were a nice size
• We like the free ping pong, and the huge bookcase where people swapped books was great.
• On a good bus route, able to get the bus into Corfu town and up to Kassiopi
• Sun loungers were incredibly comfy, and the pool was so quiet for most our holiday

The less good: We paid a premium price for what was advertised as a luxury 4 star hotel and it really failed to hit the mark.

• Advertised as a spa hotel and there was not a spa at the hotel
• Rooftop bar advertised, was never open once in our 10 day stay. There were 3 nights of bad weather but besides this it was perfect yet still didn't open. I think maybe it was too quiet for them to justify having staff up there, but they should make this really clear.
• Food and drink was disappointing compared to other 4*b hotels we've been to in Greece. Cocktail menu was not great and was in small plastic cups/not fresh. No substitutions could be made. With food, the hotel website and Tui show incredible photos of lots of choices whereas in reality whilst the food was nice there were limited options, especially on desserts where there may only be 2 choices.

They would also stop serving food an hour before closure, we cam down to breakfast and on multiple days at 9am they would stop putting out any new food so the food was often cold.

• One of our rooms was cleaned daily, but our second room went days without being cleaned. We had to ask reception for things like toilet roll which were still not delivered and in the end had to take from the toilet by the restaurant. At a 4* hotel you should not have to go out and find toilet roll!
• The shower was cold, asked reception and they were unable to fix. It also leaked everywhere.

We had a nice holiday and loved exploring Corfu, but I wish the hotel and TUI would either work on improvements, or look at their listing and make it more realistic as it's no wonder people are turning up disappointed.

The only positive thing I can say about this hotel is its location. It really does have beautiful views. We had a sea view room, which was lovely. However, the mattress was far too soft, and the pillows were lumpy and uncomfortable.

The swimming pool was green around the edges and so murky that you couldn't even see the bottom, which wasn't very inviting. We spend all our time at the beaches, which are beautiful.

The restaurant became very busy between 7:30 and 8:00 pm, making it difficult to find a table. We often had to ask for cutlery, and while the food was mainly Greek and generally tasty, it was consistently only lukewarm. The plates were also frequently wet. There was self-service ice cream available, but only if you could find a bowl.

Drinks in the restaurant are self-service. If you wanted wine, you would usually have to drink it from a half-pint glass because wine glasses were rarely available. As the bar is located by the pool, all drinks are served in small plastic tumblers including wine.

We came here to relax and escape our very stressful jobs in hospitality, but instead found ourselves becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of attention to basic standards. In the end, we chose to eat out instead. Thankfully, there are some excellent restaurants nearby.